


Well then.

by JNAH



Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Established Relationship, M/M, Set sometime in the future
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-07
Updated: 2016-12-16
Packaged: 2018-08-29 17:53:08
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,291
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8499496
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JNAH/pseuds/JNAH
Summary: Starkiller and other vaguely glossed-over events go down, including but not limited to the fall of the First Order and the defeat of Snoke. The end result strands Hux and Kylo together with a ship and not much else (convenient), and even though they argue most of the time they stick together. After all, it pays to have someone watching your back, and also, it so happens that they’re both working through, ugh, emotions. So, while they’re flying across the galaxy getting up to all kinds of shenanigans, reluctant partnership turns into not-so-reluctant partnership turns into relationship turns into bonding turns into fluff. And then comes the inevitable confrontation with the light side trio.





	1. Chapter 1

 

 

Finn looked helplessly around at the haphazard boxes and bins that turned the tiny junkshop into a claustrophobic maze. Where were the labels? Surely it all had to be organized somehow. For the hundredth time, Finn looked down at the list that Rey had given him, then up at the overflowing shelves. Nope. This was no good. He didn’t even know what half of the words on Rey’s list meant, let alone what most of the stuff on display was even for. 

Looked like he was going to need some help. He glanced towards the back of the establishment, where a blue-tinged Twi’lek female was perched on a high stool behind a grimy counter, ringing up a redheaded human. It seemed as if he had just finished paying, but the pair were still chatting. Finn wondered if it would be rude to interrupt. The shopkeeper seemed friendly enough, at least, she was smiling, but the other customer had his back turned to Finn, so he couldn’t get a read on his expression.

Carefully, trying to avoid imagining what a disaster it would be if he knocked over one of the tall stacks of junk, Finn walked up one of the narrow aisles so that he was standing a few feet behind the other man, patiently waiting to catch the mechanic’s eye. She glanced at Finn in acknowledgement, and then turned back purposefully to her conversation.

“C’mon, kid, just give me a hint,” she wheedled, twirling a datapad between her hands, “You know that no matter what it is you’re designing, I’ll end up buying two.”

The man crossed his arms sternly. “As I stated previously, I have no announcements to make regarding new releases,” he said, “Bag, please.” 

“I know you’re working on something,” she insisted playfully. She dug around behind the counter, brought out a simple black bag, and handed it to him. 

“I’m always _working_ on something,” he scoffed, taking the bag, “When I’ve _finished_ something, you’ll be duly informed. As always.” Methodically, he placed his collection of odds and ends into the bag one by one. He seemed to scrutinize the last part for a second longer than the others, and then, with a tiny jerk of his head, looked up at her again. “Say,” he added, “do you happen to have any extra of these? I think I’m going to want more than just one.” 

“Hmmm” the clerk said thoughtfully, leaning forward to eye the metal and wire coiled in his hand, “I might have another box of that unit buried beneath the shipment from last week. I’ll go look...if you tell me what you’re going to use it for.”

The man shook his head. “Nice try,” he said firmly, “but I’m not saying a word about it.” 

“You’re a menace,” she said with a grin, throwing up her hands, “I surrender.”

“Humph. Typical,” he replied lightly, “Now how am I supposed to finish my grand mystery project if I can’t get the right pieces?” He waved the shiny coil in front of her.

“Alright, alright,” she said, casually sliding off of her perch behind the counter, “Mind the shop, yeah? It’ll take at least ten minutes to go through all that garbage that’s stacked up.” Without waiting for a reply, she ducked behind the curtain and out of sight.

Finn managed to repress a sigh. Another ten minutes? Really? He turned around and picked his way to the front end of the shop. Maybe he could just sit outside until this guy was done. Actually, that sounded good. It was a really nice day, and this planet had a fresh, clean feeling to it. He should enjoy it while he had the chance, after all, this was just a refueling stop. In few days, he and Rey would be meeting Poe back at the base.

He walked out the door, then eased himself down on the grass up against the shop wall. He took a deep breath, and relaxed. There. No need to be impatient. He entertained himself by watching the market goers pass by. It was still early in the morning here, so it wasn’t very busy, but the square would probably be brimming with noisy shoppers by the time the sun hit noon. 

He glanced backward through the window to see if that other man was done. It seemed that the shop owner hadn’t returned yet. The man was standing patiently, casually looking over a bucket of rusted tools. He lifted one up to his face to get a closer look, and – _kriff_.

His _face_.

His kriffing _face._

Finn knew that face. It had been a long time since he’d seen it, and even longer since he’d seen it in person. Back then he had been looking through the eyes of a white mask, but still, there was no mistaking that face.

The morning sun, which minutes ago had felt pleasantly warm, was now somehow stifling. He gulped and wiped the sweat off of his brow. As slowly as he dared, he stood and walked out of sight of the window.

As soon as he was firmly planted against the wall of a diner two doors down, he took a deep breath and fumbled for his comm. 

“Please pick up,” he muttered, “please pick up, please pick up, please-” 

“Finn? Is this you?”

“Rey,” he sighed, allowing himself a quick breath of relief, “Rey– listen– I was getting the stuff you wanted– and it was far too confusing by the way– but there was this guy right, and I was just waiting– because he was turned away from me, right – and then–” 

“Finn, calm down,” Rey instructed. She immediately adopted her trademark ‘deep patience and blossoming Jedi wisdom voice.’ It was a tad insulting, but the familiarity was admittedly slightly calming. “It’s okay if you can’t get everything on the list,” she continued smoothly, “just make sure you grab the power converters.”

“Rey. I appreciate it, but that’s not what I’m trying to say! It’s –well.” Finn took another breath. This wasn’t a big deal. He had been in far more serious situations. A bit more collected, he continued, “Listen. There’s a man in the shop and I recognized him. He’s First Order.”

“First Order? Are you sure?” The dismissive tone was gone. Now Rey sounded surprised, and concerned.

“Absolutely,” he said. Finn relaxed. He wasn’t alone in this.

“Who is it then?” Rey asked curiously. Then, an idea seemed to strike her. “Is it Kylo Ren?” she whispered.

“No, no,” he dismissed. Although Rey insisted that Kylo Ren was still out there somewhere and it was their duty to find him, Finn would be more than happy to never lay eyes on that maniac again. “It’s their general. Well, I suppose he’s their ex-general, now. Seeing as the First Order is long gone. Anyway. Ex-general Hux.”

“Wow.” 

“Yeah.” 

"I’m on my way. Don’t lose him.”


	2. Chapter 2

Hux turned away from a bin of discarded parts and brought his data pad out from his bag. After scanning his business folder for anything urgent, he absentmindedly opened a list of groceries, the next errand he had to take care of today. It was a short list this week, it wouldn’t take long to retrieve everything. He looked at it thoughtfully. Hmm. Perhaps it was too short. He ought to add a few items.

He felt his comm buzz briefly, signaling an incoming call. Pleased, he answered immediately.

“Ren,” he greeted, “I’m glad you called. I’m considering adding milk to the grocery list. What do you think?”

“Milk? Actually, that’s not a bad idea – wait – what am I doing – Hux! We need to get the hell out of here, I sensed something – it’s _her._ ” Ren took a deep breath. _“_ She’s here. On the planet somewhere. She didn’t recognize me though, so it’s probably just a coincidence, but, it doesn’t matter. We have to leave. Where are you?”

Hux held very still, his grip immediately tightening on his comm. “Dammit Ren,” he hissed, “I’m still in town.” He closed his eyes and allowed himself one very long sigh, then murmured, “We had a good setup here too.”

“I know,” Ren said, his voice cracking, “but please Hux, just hurry, alright? The sooner we’re gone the better.”

Hux began walking towards the shop door, but then paused. A thought occurred to him. He hated it, true, but still…. this wasn’t about him. It was about Ren. Steeling himself, he spat the question out before he could bring himself to regret it. “Have you considered that this is that signal from fate you’ve been waiting for? You’ve been agonizing over reconnecting to your family for far too long. If it’s just her, this may be your chance.” There. He said it. Hux waited impatiently for a response.

Hux heard a desperate whine from the other end of the call. “No- no- I – I’m not ready-,” Ren whispered, “this is too- too sudden, b-but-”

Immediately Hux cursed himself for even bringing it up. “Kriff, Ren, I’m sorry, just forget it,” he interjected hurriedly, “If you think that we should leave, then we’ll leave.” Hux walked quickly down the remainder of the aisle, wrenched open the shop door, and left without looking back. He moved at a brisk pace down the street, towards his speeder, which was parked at the far end of the square. Hux glanced up and down, seeing nothing unusual. It was fairly empty, still too early in the morning for the rush. As he walked, he turned his attention back to his comm. “This is what’s going to happen,” he said quietly, “Take the allotted provisions onto the ship and then lockdown the house. Meet me out of sight of town – by that old tree, and the unusual rock?  Is that feasible?”

“Yeah. Yeah – the rock that looks like the Death Star.”

Hux nearly choked. “It looks nothing like the Death Star. Honestly. I would know.”

“Well, so would I,” Ren insisted stubbornly, “And it looks exactly like the Death Star.”

Hux settled for rolling his eyes. “Fine,” he agreed sarcastically, “It’s practically a carbon copy. Now, I’ll take the speeder and meet you there. Understood?”

“Alright.” 

On the other end of the call, Hux heard some shuffling and banging that signaled the retrieval of their essential equipment. “Good,” he said, “Also. Remember that- that-” Hux went silent as, out of the corner of his eye, he saw something flash behind him. He forced himself to continue walking. He wasn’t nearly close enough to his speeder to make a break for it.

Ren’s voice rang frantically out of the tiny speaker, “Hux? What is it? Hux?”

Hux directed his eyes to the dirty glass windows of a small store as he passed it by, searching the reflection of the street behind him – yes. He was being followed by a grainy figure. “I might be a tad late to our rendezvous,” he said quietly, and then ended the call before he could hear Ren’s panicked response. Still walking with precise strides, he locked his comm unit and datapad, then tucked them both away in favor of resting a hand on his blaster, carefully adjusting a dial on the side.

If this truly was Ren’s cousin the scavenger, then he didn’t stand a chance of defeating her in combat. Of that, he was well aware. However, if he was very careful, he might manage to escape without any conflict. The tricky part was keeping her away from Ren.

His speeder was close now. If he could just- but then he caught a hint of movement from behind him, and automatically ducked behind the wall of a slim alley- just in time to avoid two shots from his pursuer’s blaster. Damn, he had almost had it. He was about to run for the other end of the alley, already mapping out a new route, when he realized that something was out of place. Those were blaster shots.

What use did a jedi have for a blaster? Immediately suspicious, Hux lifted his own weapon to cover himself as he carefully looked around the corner of the alley, managing to get a decent shot in before return fire sent him back undercover. It was more than enough time to get a fair picture of his attacker- and he would know that face anywhere. It wasn’t the scavenger at all.

It was FN-2187. The traitor.

Cursing, Hux reached onto his belt and yanked off a simple stun grenade. He desperately wanted to send something stronger, but he was in enough trouble already, and killing this- this – _slime –_ would have serious repercussions. He was about to chuck it outside the alley, when suddenly, the traitor himself came plowing recklessly around the corner, blaster leveled directly at him.

Hux immediately lifted his own blaster, holding in steady with his right hand, the stun grenade gripped tightly in his left. The traitor was now standing less than a few feet away, too close now to set it off, but perhaps he could put it to a different use.

Hux cleared his throat, and spoke carefully, “Leave now, or I’ll use this to blow us to pieces, along with half of the town square.”

The traitor didn’t take the bait. “You’re lying,” he said boldly, “You wouldn’t throw away your own life like that.”

Hux smirked, and tilted his head, letting a hint of his buried insanity bubble to the surface and shine through his eyes. It was easy, with this reminder standing directly in front of him. “Maybe,” he mused, “But then again, maybe I died a long time ago. Maybe you were the one responsible for that.” Hux took a step closer, letting his smirk bleed into a grin, letting the hatred burn on his face, transforming him into something bloodthirsty, something dangerous, spitting his words out, “ _I want to kill you more than I want to live_. So, you can leave or you can stay.” He paused for effect, allowing the emotions to play on his face, then he hissed impatiently, “I can only restrain myself for so long. Decide.”

Now, Hux noted smugly, the traitor was unsettled. He could see a hint of fear in his eyes, and his confidence was waning slightly – perfect. Hux watched him carefully, waiting for just the right moment to deliver his final blow.

And then, of course, it was all ruined.

Hux saw the traitor’s eyes shift slightly to the right, just over his shoulder, and moved, too late, to catch a blurry glimpse of the scavenger’s face before he slid into unconsciousness.


	3. Chapter 3

Hux woke with a slight jerk, eyes snapping open, heart pumping too fast, his limbs stiff with adrenaline. Forcing himself to breathe at a steady rate, he cataloged his surroundings. Standard holding cell. One recorder in the upper corner, above the door. He was lying on a bench, his right arm cuffed to the cold metal frame.

Lovely. 

Mindful of the restraints, he sat up, swinging his legs over the side of the bench and straightening his back, stretching out his limbs, testing for injury. Surprisingly enough, he seemed to be intact. He ran his hand through his hair. No obvious lumps or pain, so she must have used the force to render him unconscious.

They had taken his belt, naturally, and had managed to confiscate all of his weapons. However, to his relief, there was one key oversight – they hadn’t noticed the unnatural lump on the ankle of his boot. He reached down to run his fingers over the contents of the concealed pouch. It was a small comfort, but a comfort nonetheless. Especially since the loathsome idiots had chosen to take ~~Ren’s~~ his cloak, and the chill was starting to get to him.

Hux turned at the sound of the cell door opening. Speak of the devil. Two of his captors walked in and moved towards him, a man and a woman. He expected anger or curiosity, but they looked bored more than anything else. Annoyed, even, as though his presence was simply a rather large inconvenience. Wordlessly, they unhooked the binders from the wall and used them to fix his wrists together before propelling him out by the elbow. As if he were some common criminal. He shot a glare at the one on his right and deliberately jerked his arm free. The woman snorted, unimpressed, but she allowed Hux to walk by his own power.

As they moved down the corridors, another pair of footsteps fell into place behind them. Hux chanced a look backwards and caught a glimpse of FN-2187. He felt his lips contort into a condescending frown, and turned his attention forwards again before he could be tempted to actually say something.

 

=-=-=-=-=-

 

Finn fell into step behind Hux and his guards as they headed out of the cell and down the corridors. It wasn’t long before they rounded a corner and reached their destination, a small, windowless room with a high square table and a few chairs, one of which was occupied by Rey. She smiled and winked at Finn, and, with an answering smile, he sat down next to her, while Hux was promptly shoved into the chair opposite. The ex-general settled tensely, his posture impeccably straight.

The two escorts nodded, and exited, letting the door slam close with hint of finality.

Rey took a deep breath, and let it out.

“So,” she said carefully, turning to look directly at their charge, “There are several ways that we could do this.”

Hux raised his eyebrows. “Let me guess,” he commented scathingly, “the easy way or the hard way.” He glared steadily at them both. “Seriously? You’re playing that card?”

Unaffected, Rey sized him up. “Hmm. Not exactly what I was going to say, but I suppose that’s applicable?” She tapped her fingers lightly on the table. “My point is, our situation is somewhat, unusual.”

That was true enough. The general was, without a shadow of doubt, a war criminal, guilty of enormous crimes against the galaxy. However, the organization that he fought for had been dismantled, and the dust had already settled.

However...complacency would certainly come back to bite them. The First Order itself had risen out of the ashes of the Empire. It was their duty to keep the ashes of the First Order so scattered and thin that history would never repeat itself. 

“How long have I been here?” Hux asked abruptly.

“Not long,” Finn answered vaguely. Hux’s eye twitched. He opened his mouth slightly, as if he were about to say something, but at the last second he changed his mind, and closed it.

It was true enough, anyway. Originally, they had planned to stay on that planet for a few days, and then fly the remaining four hours to the old base on Trov4, where they were attending a meeting. But when they secured Hux, they brought him straight onto the ship and flew directly to their original destination. Although, now that he had seen it himself, Finn thought that the bunker on Trov4 was really too small to be called a base. An outpost, maybe. The small hangar would be overflowing by the time the meeting was scheduled to start in three weeks, although right now it was practically desolate. This place was understaffed too, and the stern-looking manager hadn’t been entirely pleased at being gifted a prisoner to take care of on top of everything else.

“Anyways,” Rey continued, “I want to make it clear that we’re not going to torment you. All the same, it’s in your best interest to cooperate.” She opened up the folder on the table and pulled out an impressive-looking list of questions, which had been sent down from headquarters less than an hour ago. 

Hux eyed the list suspiciously, then settled into resignation. “I suppose you’re planning on digging into my mind, then?” he commented.

Rey frowned at him, but answered, “Not in the way you’re probably imagining. However, I can tell if you’re lying, so don’t even bother.” She picked a small remote on the table, and typed something in, probably to turn on the recorders that were attached to the room’s ceiling.

“Now,” Rey said briskly, “let’s get this over with.”

And so it began. Together, they ran through the list of questions. Some of them Hux answered, some of them he ignored. When prompted, he went on for a while about the technical bits of the military hierarchy and the logistics of their system. It became clear that Hux, at least, wasn’t rebuilding the First Order behind everyone’s backs. Hux claimed to have spent his time since his ‘retirement’ planet-hopping and taking ‘a few harmless jobs,’ but he refused to go into detail. He also went silent when asked about any contact with other ex-First Order members, which was as good as an admission of guilt.

They stuck to the script, mostly, until they got to the Starkiller questions, and confirmed that Hux was one of the head engineers on the project. Rey couldn’t help looking up and asking if he regretted it. 

Hux fixed them both with yet another vicious glare. “There’s no answer to that question that will satisfy you, and I’m not about to make a fool of myself by needlessly trying,” he said furiously.

“You could start with the truth,” Rey suggested.

“Next question,” Hux answered harshly, turning his violent stare down to the floor, eviscerating the table legs with his eyes. 

Finn wondered if all of that glaring was starting to hurt Hux’s face. Rey, meanwhile, stared intensely for a few uncomfortable seconds before deliberately clearing her throat and moving on to confirm the information they had gathered on the buildup of the Stormtrooper program.

Finally, they reached the end of the list. He felt exhausted, but he knew that they weren’t quite finished yet.

“When I found you,” Finn said, “in that shop, the owner said that you were working on something. What was that all about?”

“I’m not building another superweapon,” Hux answered smoothly, “that’s all that matters, yes?”

That meant something, surely. “If it’s not a big deal, then why are you keeping it to yourself?” Finn countered.

Hux gazed at them stonily, but remained silent.

Rey sighed. “Fine then,” she said, “but we won’t forget. Anyway, that’s it for now.” She pushed her chair back, but before she could stand, Finn reached out to grab her arm.

“Hang on a sec,” he said quickly, “There’s one more thing.”

As Rey settled back down, Finn turned back to Hux, and asked, “Who were you talking to on the comm?”

Hux immediately stiffened.  “You heard that, did you?” he asked calmly. Was it Finn’s imagination, or did his voice sound a tiny bit more strained?

“Just answer,” Rey interjected.

Hux paused for a moment, then replied, “I’d rather not say.”

Rey turned towards Finn. “Don’t worry,” she said, “We’ll just go back to the town. It’ll be easy enough to talk to the shopkeeper about any projects, and then scan for anyone that’s been living there for a short period of time.”

“Wait,” Hux said quickly, “Don’t…you don’t need to do that.” He hesitated for a second, but then spoke. “Listen. I do have… a traveling companion. If you must know,” he said distantly.

Surprised, Rey studied him carefully. “Give us a name,” she said.

Hux answered slowly. “Her name is…. Millie. When I left the First Order, I took her with me.” 

Finn glanced back to meet Rey’s eyes, and they exchanged suspicious looks. He skimmed the list of unaccounted-for high-profile ex-Order members that had been attached to the list of questions, but there was no “Millie” or “Mildred” or any other name of the sort. “Really?” he asked curiously, “What position did she have?”

“She wasn’t, necessarily, employed to an official military position,” Hux said, meeting Finn’s eyes, as if he were waiting for Finn to pick up on something. There was an expectant pause, and when Finn and Rey remained silent, he continued, his words heavy with implication, “Basically, I fed her, and she… slept in my bed.”

Rey leaned away, her face etched with disapproval. “They let you keep a prostitute on a star destroyer?” she said scathingly.

Hux sneered and seemed to revel in their disgust. His voice taking on a distinct smugness, he answered proudly, “I was in a position of authority, which allowed me certain… privileges.” 

Looking at that knowing smirk, Finn found it impossible not to hate the man sitting in front of him. Here was a person who had ordered holes ripped in star maps, who had spread pain and sorrow across the galaxy, here he was, an arm’s reach away, with the most intolerable look of self-satisfaction plastered on his repulsive face. It was enough to make Finn sick.

“You’re a bastard,” Finn said hollowly.

In a split second, Hux’s expression flipped into scowl. “Very creative,” he snarled, “I’ve never heard that one before.”

“Shut it,” Rey said loudly, standing up, “We’re done here anyway, yes?” She turned to Finn for confirmation.

Finn nodded, and stood, his mind still reeling. He watched numbly as Hux was dragged out of the room, then turned to Rey.

“Did you, sense anything?” Finn asked.

Rey reached upwards, stretching her arms, and looked thoughtfully at the place where Hux had been sitting. “He never lied, technically,” she said slowly, “I think he enjoys being factual, or something. But… he still came across as twisty, like the facts were in the wrong order. I get the sense that he’s hiding something big.”

Finn nodded. He had a similar impression. “Still,” he said confidently, “we’ll find out, eventually.”


End file.
